"What did you do?" shouted Britina (Brie-Tina) as she charged her next magic spell.
"I made tea!" shouted Prunhiline (Prune-Hill-In), knocking back five demons with her war hammer.
"Where did the demons come from?" Britina demanded, releasing her magic to knock a demon square in the face, sending several others reeling.
"I was making tea!" shouted Prunhiline. She decided that a demon was a better weapon against other demons. The demon she was currently swinging over her head disagreed. But he wasn't in a place to argue with the six-foot-seven warrior.
"What?!" Britina shouted. "Nevermind. Keep them busy. I'll cast a dispel."
"Right! Say the pretty words and get rid of them." Prunhiline tossed the demon she was swinging out the window. It was time to brawl.
Initially excited to be free, the demons looked ready to go home. They backed away, giving the mage room to cast her dispel. Unfortunately, the warrior assumed they were preparing for an attack.
Prunhiline bellowed a battle cry as she charged the cringing group of demons. The lead demon prayed to the dark lords and, for good measure, to the gods of light. Really, he didn't care who answered as long as he got to go home.
The warrior plowed into the group of demons. They scattered from the full force of the warrior's charge. She grabbed one by his neck with her right hand and another by her left. She swung them about, scattering the poor demons around the room.
Britina muttered the pretty words of magic, the room glowed, and with a small pop, the demons were gone.
Britina sat on a wooden box. All of her possessions were packed and ready for storage. Prunhiline sat down on the floor. Most furniture didn't accommodate her great height.
"Tea?" Britina panted.
"No, thank you," Prunhiline said. "I could use an ale."
Britina glared hard at Prunhiline. "You were making tea?"
"Oh yeah," Prunhiline found her feet interesting, but not the mage's glare.
Britina was still trying to connect tea and demons before asking the obvious question: "Why? You don't even like tea."
"You do. I wanted to surprise you with a cup of tea before the ceremony," Prunhiline admitted shyly. She liked to do things for her best friend and recent accidental wife but was always embarrassed by it.
"Ceremony?" That word meant something to Britina. It meant a great deal for something. "Ceremony? Ceremony! Ceremony!" Britina was on her feet and shouted, "We are late! Why aren't you ready?"
"I was making you tea!" Shouted Prunhiline as she grabbed her armor.
Britina took a few deep breaths, "Why didn't you wake me?"
"I was going to wake you with a cup of your favorite tea," Prunhiline mumbled, looking down at the floor.
Britina smiled, "Thank you, dear love. But we must hurry, or we'll miss the opening speech."
"Good!" Prunhiline said with a big grin.
--
The crowd of new heroes freshly graduating from the academy stood in the castle's courtyard. The king surveyed them with pride. The city's academy was famous for producing the best of the best. His gaze fell on an enormously tall woman in a mix of metal and leather armor, and his thoughts soured. That one was different.
Prunhiline, a towering six-foot-seven warrior from the plains, looked like she had dressed in a hurry (which she had). Her short brown hair was uncombed. Arguably the finest warrior in her group, some even claimed she was the best in ages. He was told she was proficient in all weapons, including silverware, which bothered him greatly. She was also known for being reckless and brash, especially when beer was involved. The guards knew her well, and many feared her. He was confident this woman would be the first villain to graduate from the academy.
The king's gaze drifted to the shorter woman beside the tall warrior. She stood at a regular five-foot-nine and wore a simple blue dress with silver embroidery on the sleeves and collar. Her shoulder-length blond hair was well-groomed and hung loosely around her attractive face. She stood tall and proud. She was Lady Britina from the coastal providence. Like the warrior, she was the best in the class, possibly the best mage to graduate in ages. Rumors whispered that she may even rival the grandmaster in power. The Mage's Circle had already accepted her, which was highly unusual for a graduate.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
The king marveled at the striking difference between the two women. The warrior began digging a finger in her ear. The mage noticed and slapped the warrior's thigh with her left hand. They exchanged a few words before Prunhiline resumed her bored expression. Britina rolled her eyes and adjusted her dress. These two oddly different women were married. He didn't understand and felt that there was a story to be heard, but no one was talking so far. Gossip was one of his guilty pleasures, and the castle staff kept him in the loop.
"Hey, Bri?" Prunhiline said through the side of her mouth.
Britina kept looking ahead but whispered back, "What?"
"I was thinking," Prunhiline paused, appearing to count to herself, "did all the demons get sent back?"
"Yes," Britina whispered back, "all of them in the room were gone."
"Yeah, about that," Prunhiline stood staring at something in the distance, "What if one wasn't in the room?"
"Why would there be one not in the room?" Britina began to worry, looking where Prunhiline was staring hard.
"I may have thrown one out the window," Prunhiline whispered, watching the demon sitting on the castle's wall.
"What!" Britina yelled. All eyes were on her. She blushed from the sudden attention and looked down at her feet. "What do you mean?" Britina hissed quietly.
"There's one demon left. He's on the wall." Prunhiline whispered back.
Britina looked up and saw it. A small red demon watched the ceremony from the top of the castle's walls. It waved at her. Before Britina could say anything else, her attention was returned to where they were.
"Lady Britina and Prunhiline of the plains!" the attendant announced. It was their turn, and Britina was excited to speak with the king again. Prunhiline was excited that they were finally given an official quest. The two adventurer's previous quest didn't count as it was self-assigned, self-completed, and ended in marriage.
Prunhiline mumbled, "They should have used my title."
"If they did, we'd be here all day," Britina mumbled before adding, "What are we going to do about the demon?"
"That's the point. I'm that great." The warrior fired back at her companion. Prunhiline's tribe used all their accomplishments, such as killing monsters, as their title. The warrior had shown proficiency at killing monsters and already had a considerable title. "I don't know. Leave it?"
"We can't leave it." Hissed Britina, "It's our responsibility to put it back."
They climbed the stairs to the platform and stood before the king. Britina curtsied, and Prunhiline waved; the king frowned. Britina quickly elbowed her companion.
"Lady Britina and Prunhiline. Congratulations on completing your studies at the academy." He said in his official voice. "I will now assign your first mission." Britina and Prunhiline both smiled with anticipation. Kill a dragon? Fight a horde of the undead? Rescue a maiden before she is sacrificed and let it count this time? "You will travel to the Dwarven capital and meet with their king as emissaries to our kingdom." Britina was delighted, but Prunhiline began to sulk. To her, a quest only counted if she got to kill something.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Britina said, accepting the parchment from the king. She felt pride in getting their first official mission.
The king said less formally, "And congratulations on getting married. I just found out this morning." He was hoping to have some juicy gossip for the staff. It made him feel good when he could find out more than they did, which rarely happened.
"Thank you again, your majesty," Britina looked embarrassed. "It was by accident," she mumbled.
"By accident?" the king asked, confused. How does someone get married by accident? Was there something he didn't understand about weddings? He stood in the cathedral and said, "I do." It was pretty simple.
"My fault." Prunhiline stared down at her feet and began to kick the wooden boards with her right foot. The king was unnerved to see the giant warrior actually embarrassed.
The king stared at the tall warrior and then down at the mage. He opened his mouth and closed it. Tilted his head to the right and blinked. He looked back at the warrior, who now looked guilty of a high crime. Confusion spread across his face. He looked back at the mage, now looking away, embarrassed. The gears in his head wouldn't click. With a growing embarrassment that he didn't understand, he asked, "That will be a story for another day?"
"Of course, thank you," Britina whispered. Prunhiline nodded. They both seemed to regain their confidence.
The courtyard was silent as everyone attempted to eavesdrop on the conversation. It was known the two women were married, but not how. The king looked about at the other adventurers in the audience. His mind finally kicked back into gear and announced, "Go forth, my heroes of the realm!" This was how he liked to dismiss each team. Britina bowed, and Prunhiline gave the king a smile and waved as they left the platform. The attendant announced the next group, and the king finally found his groove again.
"This is exciting, Prunhiline," Britina said as they left the castle.
"No diplomatic mission can ever be exciting. It's not like we will fight some powerful mage dressed in all black while his minions dressed in white try to overwhelm us in a desperate attempt to keep us from achieving our mission to save the world." Prunhiline said, kicking a pebble down the road.
Britina looked at her companion, confused. "I need to start reviewing these books you read." To Prunhiline's embarrassment, she was surprised that the warrior loved to read. Britina was even more astonished at the strange books the warrior read.
"Ah, Bri. Don't say that out loud. I don't want anyone to know I read books." Prunhiline whispered, looking around as if someone was spying on them and would tell the world that this six-foot-seven muscular warrior loved reading trashy romance novels.
Britina laughed as she patted the warrior's arm, "Dear love, your secret is safe with me."